Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik has announced Rs 56-crore financial assistance for over 8 lakh kendu leaf puckers and others engaged in such a trade.

In the third phase of the 2022 crop year, a 25 per cent bonus will be given to 7.75 lakh kendu leaf pluckers and a 5 per cent incentive to 40,000 binders and temporary workers, according to a release issued by the Chief Ministers' Office on Wednesday.

A total amount of Rs 56.23 crore will be given to the kendu leaf workers, it said.

In the first phase of the 2022 crop year, Rs 1,000 was given to each kendu leaf plucker, and Rs 1,500 to each binder and temporary worker, the CMO release said, adding that Rs 83.34 crore of financial assistance was provided then.

Similarly, in the second tranche, Rs 1,000 was given to each kendu leaf plucker along with Rs 200 for water bottles and Rs 160 for chappals. During this phase, binders and temporary workers were given Rs 1,500 each, and thus the total financial aid was Rs 111.21 crore, the release said.

The total amount of assistance given to the kendu leaf pluckers and binders for the 2022 crop year would be Rs 250.78 crore, which is a "record in a single crop year", it said.

Most of the beneficiaries belong to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities, and the financial assistance will be "helpful" in improving their living standard, it claimed.

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